The Blue Hens were the top seed in the CAA tournament, and despite a furious scoring explosion from William & Mary, replete with a flurry of makes from Marcus Thornton and Omar Prewitt (aka, the Tribe’s offensive core next season), UDee is dancing for the first time in fifteen years. W&M had a chance to earn their inaugural NCAA tournament bid in program history, but a double cut and made two by UD big Carl Baptiste in the final minute provided Monté Ross’ squad with the win.

Important outcomes

1) Manhattan 71, Iona 68

The Jaspers ended Iona’s hegemony on the MAAC, showcasing a stout man defense that chased the Gaels’ shooters from the three-point line and prevented open looks for AJ English, Sean Armand, and Isaiah Williams. An interesting aspect of title game, though, is whether Tim Cluess’ squad will earn an at-large bid; the team’s best win at the moment is a non-conference victory over Wofford.

2) Wofford 56, Western Carolina 53

For the third time in five seasons, Mike Young and his staff are piloting Wofford to the NCAA tournament. Other than the Terriers’ stout defense (more on that later in Late Night Snacks), the title game’s highlight was the play of Karl Cochran. The junior is one of the Southern Conference’s best perimeter shooters, but he somehow found himself open consistently against the Catamounts, making five of his ten three-point attempts.

3) BYU 79, San Francisco 77 (OT)

The Dons were the hottest team in the WCC entering the game, and despite a double-double from senior forward Cole Dickerson, the Cougars were able to outlast San Francisco.

Starred
1) Taylor Braun (North Dakota State)

Recently named Summit League player of the year, Braun manhandled Denver’s defense in a game that was lopsided soon after the opening tip. The senior wing scored 28 points through a combination of efficient shooting (two of four from within the arc, four of five from three) and aggressiveness: his twelve free throw attempts led both teams.

2) Carl Baptiste (Delaware)

Easily the CAA’s most improved player, Baptiste was a defensive mismatch for W&M. There wasn’t a member of the Tribe who could handle Baptiste’s heft, and the forward scored 24 points, including the game-winning shot, and grabbed eight rebounds.

3) David Stockton (Gonzaga)

The senior guard posted his most complete game this season, scoring 21 points, hauling in six rebounds, dishing out four assists, and somehow not recording a turnover in a 70-54 WCC semifinal win over Saint Mary’s.

Struggled

1) Denver’s defense

North Dakota State’s final margin of victory was nearly forty points, and the Bison posted a whopping offensive efficiency rating of 1.55 points per possession. Not only did NDSU make more than 60 percent of their twos, they also converted over 60 percent of their threes.

2) Trey Sumler (Western Carolina)

The senior is one of DI’s all-time feel good stories: a former walk-on who transforms into an all-first team candidate. Wofford was able to silence the prolific scorer, hamstringing Sumler to just nine points — he didn’t make his first field goal until eleven minutes or so remained in the second half.

3) Saint Mary’s offense

Gonzaga’s defense is stout this season, but their stinginess doesn’t entirely explain how Saint Mary’s was able to score just .81 PPP. Other than Brad Waldow, no other Gael made more than three field goals.

Conference tournaments

CAA: Another Phil Martelli assistant is dancing

Ross was a part of the 2003-04 St. Joe’s coaching staff, and like Matt Brady a year ago, his team earned the CAA’s auto bid following a 75-74 win over William & Mary. UDee has the pieces to spring an opening round upset — while their defense can be shaky, their guards are among the most complete and offensively proficient in DI.

When Manhattan last cracked the tourney field, Bobby Gonzalez was still a head coach, and Luis Flores was spearheading an upset of Florida. This year’s squad is a bit different: a number of players form a cohesive offensive unit that prides itself on defensively manipulating opponents, as evidenced by Manhattan’s 71-68 victory against bitter rival Iona.

MEAC: Can North Carolina Central make the Dance?

LeVelle Moton’s squad doesn’t play until Wednesday, but the opening rounds of the MEAC began Monday night: Norfolk State beat UMES, 78-74, and Savannah State did what they do best — defensively frustrate opponents (vs. South Carolina State, 61-47). Should North Carolina A&T defeat Howard, there will be a rematch of the 2013 MEAC tournament, one in which the Aggies defeated the Eagles.

North Dakota State seems destined to secure the Summit’s NCAA bid. The team posted what is likely their most efficient offensive rating in a thumping of Denver, and Braun’s personal offensive rating was completely ridiculous: 203. It is unclear how IPFW, which defeated South Dakota State on Monday night (64-60), will be able to defend what appears to be a scoring juggernaut.

WCC: Does BYU need to beat Gonzaga to make the NCAAs?
For the first time since joining the WCC in 2011-12, BYU has made the tournament final, and will be matched up against Gonzaga. The Cougars have a stronger non-conference resume than the Zags, including wins Texas and Stanford, and Dave Rose’s squad has split the two meetings with Gonzaga this year. At the moment, it would seem BYU will crack the field of 68 even if they lose to the Bulldogs, so it will be interesting to see which BYU team emerges on Tuesday: the one that allowed San Francisco to take the lead at half? Or the BYU team that stymied the Dons late in the second half and overtime?